The AUMF was signed by President George W. Bush on September 18, 2001. As of December 2016, de Office of de President pubwished a brief interpreting de AUMF as providing Congressionaw audorization for de use of force against aw-Qaeda and oder Iswamic miwitant groups.[1][2]

The onwy representative to vote against de Audorization in 2001 was Barbara Lee, who has consistentwy criticised it since for being a bwank check giving de government unwimited powers to wage war widout debate.[3] Lee has initiated severaw attempts to repeaw de audorization since. On June 29, 2017, a group of wibertarian Repubwicans and Democrats on de House Appropriations Committee approved Lee’s amendment to end de 2001 audorization widin 240 days, which wouwd have forced debate on a repwacement audorization, uh-hah-hah-hah. This amendment was removed from de biww by de Ruwes Committee so de AUMF remains in effect.[4][5]Business Insider has reported dat de AUMF has been used to awwow miwitary action in Afghanistan, de Phiwippines, Georgia, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ediopia, Eritrea, Iraq, and Somawia.[6]

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To audorize de use of United States Armed Forces against dose responsibwe for de recent attacks waunched against de United States.

Whereas, on September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous viowence were committed against de United States and its citizens; and

Whereas, such acts render it bof necessary and appropriate dat de United States exercise its rights to sewf-defense and to protect United States citizens bof at home and abroad; and

Whereas, in wight of de dreat to de nationaw security and foreign powicy of de United States posed by dese grave acts of viowence; and

Whereas, such acts continue to pose an unusuaw and extraordinary dreat to de nationaw security and foreign powicy of de United States; and

Whereas, de President has audority under de Constitution to take action to deter and prevent acts of internationaw terrorism against de United States: Now, derefore, be it

Resowved by de Senate and House of Representatives of de United States of America in Congress assembwed,

Section 1 – Short Titwe

This joint resowution may be cited as de 'Audorization for Use of Miwitary Force'.

Section 2 – Audorization For Use of United States Armed Forces

(a) IN GENERAL- That de President is audorized to use aww necessary and appropriate force against dose nations, organizations, or persons he determines pwanned, audorized, committed, or aided de terrorist attacks dat occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of internationaw terrorism against de United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

An initiaw draft of Senate Joint Resowution 23 incwuded wanguage granting de power "to deter and preempt any future acts of terrorism or aggression against de United States.” Members were concerned dat dis wouwd provide "a bwank check to go anywhere, anytime, against anyone de Bush administration or any subseqwent administration deemed capabwe of carrying out an attack" and de wanguage was removed.[7]Constitutionaw waw speciawist professor Bruce Ackerman of Yawe Law Schoow has said dat de Obama Administration's use of de AUMF has so far overstepped de audorized powers of de finaw, enacted version of de biww as to more cwosewy resembwe de capabiwities named in dis draft text rejected by Congress.[8]

On September 14, 2001 de House passed House Joint Resowution 64. The totaws in de House of Representatives were 420 ayes, 1 nay and 10 not voting. The sowe nay vote was by Barbara Lee, D-CA.[9] Lee was de onwy member of eider house of Congress to vote against de biww.[10]

Lee opposed de wording of de AUMF, not de action it represented. She bewieved dat a response was necessary but feared de vagueness of de document was simiwar to de 1964 Guwf of Tonkin Resowution. The Tonkin act was repeawed in 1970 amid discussion of its faciwitation of de Vietnam war and its potentiaw to enabwe a new incursion in Cambodia.[11]

The AUMF has awso been cited by a wide variety of US officiaws as justification for continuing US miwitary actions aww over de worwd. Often de phrases "Aw-Qaeda and associated forces" or "affiwiated forces" have been used by dese officiaws. However, dat phrase does not appear in de AUMF.[12]

According to a report by de Congressionaw Research Service, pubwished May 11, 2016, at dat time de 2001 AUMF had been cited 37 times in connection wif actions in 14 countries and on de high seas. The report stated dat "Of de 37 occurrences, 18 were made during de Bush Administration, and 19 have been made during de Obama Administration, uh-hah-hah-hah." The countries dat were mentioned in de report incwuded Afghanistan, Cuba (Guantanamo Bay), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ediopia, Georgia, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Phiwippines, Somawia, Syria and Yemen, uh-hah-hah-hah. [13]

Hedges v. Obama, a wawsuit brought by journawists and activists against de Nationaw Defense Audorization Act for Fiscaw Year 2012 in which Congress "affirms" presidentiaw audority for indefinite detention under de AUMF and makes specific provisions as to de exercise of dat audority.